Today President Donald Trump is holding another MAGA campaign rally at Southern Illinois Airport Hangar 6 in Murphysboro, IL. President Trump is expected to speak at 4:30pm CST / 5:30pm EST
UPDATE: Video Added

UPDATE: 4:00pm EST Police/FBI/DOJ Briefing:  •9:54am initial call to 911; •officers dispatched 9:55am; •11 fatalities (no children); •six injuries including 4 police; •suspect used rifle and 3 handguns; •suspect Robert Bowers, no prior police contact; •suspect acted alone; •motive appears hate-crime, antisemitism.
A suspect named Robert Bowers (48) opened fire in a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, today killing an unknown number of people. Bowers opened fire at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue shortly before 10am.

According to an assembly of media reports, the shooter killed at least three people on the main floor of the building then went downstairs, where the congregation was gathering in the basement, and opened fire killing at least four people there.
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President Trump is delivering remarks today at the 91st Annual Future Farmers of America Convention and Expo in Indiana, following a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that has left an unknown number of victims.
UPDATE: Video Added

Terrific article written by Lee Smith at Real Clear Investigations today highlighting a competing leverage dynamic between President Trump and DAG Rod Rosenstein.  One of the reasons the outline is valuable – is specifically because Smith accepts the information ‘as it is‘, as it appears to be, and not as he would wish it to be.  [Read Here]
The result of Smith’s investigative research assembles a compilation of recent events, and discussions from sources within congress, and seems to parallel our own research and most likely conclusions therein.  In summary: there is an ongoing politically motivated ‘battle over leverage‘ between President Trump and Rod Rosenstein.

We have discussed this leverage issue extensively.  However, Smith brings forth a new aspect in the form of the recently filed position of the Rosenstein DOJ as it relates to the declassification of FISA documents.  This new information introduces the position of Rosenstein as likely political ‘push-back‘ against the president and declassification.
As Smith notes the recent DOJ filing infers any attempt to declassify material within the FISA application is tantamount to “obstruction” of the Mueller investigation:

In the 178-page court document, DOJ officials said they had “determined that disclosure of redacted information in the Carter Page FISA documents could reasonably be expected to interfere with the pending investigation into Russian election interference.”

In other words, Rosenstein’s DOJ position is any attempt to declassify the Page FISA documents is interference or obstruction of the Mueller investigation.
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A suspect has been arrested for mailing of 13 suspicious packages containing IED-type devices to prominent political opponents to President Trump.  The suspect is 56-year-old Cesar Altieri Savoc Jr of Aventura, Florida.
According to a joint FBI and DOJ press conference earlier today a fingerprint and traces of DNA led the FBI to Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr.  The suspect is now charged with with five federal crimes, including mailing an incendiary device and threatening a former president. [Full Indictment Here] He faces up to 48 years in prison according to the DOJ.
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Mr. Sayoc left a fingerprint on one of the devices sent to U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, and DNA from two other devices links him to the attacks.
Director Wray outlined during his remarks that the devices consisted of PVC pipe, clocks, batteries, wiring and “energetic material that can become combustible when subjected to heat or friction”. The FBI director went out of his way to state: “these were not hoax devices.”
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President Trump delivers impromptu remarks as he leaves the White House for a MAGA rally in North Carolina.  Most of the questions and comments were directed toward today’s arrest of Cesar Sayoc for mailing IED’s to opponents of the president.

With the midterm elections just 11 days away, President Trump heads to Charlotte, North Carolina for a MAGA rally in the Tar Heel state.  The venue is Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC and the Anticipated start time is 7:00pm EST with pre-rally speakers earlier in the schedule.
UPDATE: Video Added

The Commerce Department, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), has released the first estimate of the third quarter GDP growth for June, July and August 2018 (full pdf below).  The rate of economic growth in Q3 is estimated at 3.5%, exceeding most forecasts of slightly more than three percent.  The second quarter growth was 4.2%.

“Defying ‘conventional wisdom’ once again, 3.5 percent growth is the latest sign that the Trump economy continues to surge,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “The President’s actions from deregulation to tax reform have supercharged the American economy, driving it to new heights.”

Overall the 3.5% growth is exceptionally strong.  To see the data bolstering a positive future forecast I would draw attention to Table 2 (lines 43 through 49) and the analysis for net impact over Exports/Imports.  The heavy import number delivered a net subtraction of 1.78% from GDP growth; that’s a result of a large increase in imported durable goods [likely anticipatory holiday inventory buildup].

As you can imagine from your own shopping experiences, durable goods inventories generally climb in the third quarter as companies increase inventory in preparation for holiday sales in quarter four.  The growth in the buildup of this inventory is significantly higher than historic trend; this means companies are forecasting strong consumer demand for goods in Q4, the holiday season.
Further support for a booming Q4 purchase prediction can be found in the current 4% growth of consumer spending.  With wages growing (3.8% avg), and with an incredibly strong jobs market, people are making large purchases with confidence.  Additionally, price data in the current GDP report shows inflation at a 1.6 percent annualized pace.
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Earlier today President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a meeting of young black leadership at the White House. The speech follows two years of ongoing administration initiatives to support black and minority communities [See Here].

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley sent a criminal referral to the DOJ today surrounding Creepy Porn Lawyer Michael Avenatti and claims from the accusers he brought forth.   Hours later,…. all of a sudden NBC, the primary advocacy media for Avenatti and his accusers, starts publicly questioning the details of their interactions?

In a late-evening publication of NBC News Investigations, journalists Kate Snow and Anna Schecter outline the contradictions between Creepy Porn Lawyer and two female accusers Avenatti put them in contact with.
In a transparent effort to retain credibility, the face of NBC, Chuck Todd, now claims Avenatti “mislead” the NBC reporters. It needs to be emphasized here that none of these contradictions were discussed by NBC during the controversy around the Kavanaugh confirmation.  They kept quiet about it when it mattered.

NBC […] In the second statement, the unidentified woman said she witnessed Kavanaugh “spike” the punch at high school parties in order to sexually take advantage of girls. But less than 48 hours before Avenatti released her sworn statement on Twitter, the same woman told NBC News a different story.

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